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Summary: This article describes the implementation and outcomes of a social work program in a university pediatric dental clinic serving low-income families. The goal was to decrease barriers to dental care access, decrease appointment failure, and improve interprofessional practice (IPP). Funding was obtained through a foundation to hire a social worker and two interns, and cover program costs. A survey identified barriers families faced to obtain and complete pediatric dental care. Residents, dental students, and faculty make referrals to the social workers who intervene to help families overcome challenges for their children's care. Findings: The program started in January 2019 and outcomes are reported through June 2021. The largest barriers families identified were lack of a pediatric dentist near home accepting public insurance (91%), the dentist who saw their child only did exams and cleanings but not fillings (84%), and need for specialized dental care (77%). Five hundred and eleven families were referred to the social workers, most commonly for resources, information or other referrals (30.5%), dental insurance lapse (14.9%), caregiver guidance on oral health (10.6%), mental health concerns (10.4%), and poor treatment compliance (9.6%). Social workers provided 424 interventions, mostly about information regarding community resources (26.8%), transportation issues (15.9%), and telephone consults (14.2%). Appointment failure rates decreased from 17% to 13.5%, while the cancelation rate decreased from 19.2% to 14.3% from January 2019 to June 2021, respectively. Applications: Social workers helped decrease barriers to pediatric dental care, improve attendance to dental appointments, and enhance IPP for pediatric dental residents, students, and faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical assistant vacancies require ambulatory care clinics to reallocate critical, clinical workflows to other members of the healthcare team. This shift in workload can increase stress and burnout while decreasing overall top of license work. An urban, academic medical center implemented a medical assistance apprenticeship to address this workforce challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a longitudinal analysis of racial inequities evidenced in placement patterns in the least restrictive environment (LRE). We compared placement trends in neighborhoods and charter schools for Black and White students receiving special education services (SRSES). Drawing from the concept of institutional isomorphism and using a longitudinal analysis of odds ratio, we examined annual school data from 2008 to 2012 on students' placement in the LRE in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Our findings indicate that over time charter schools mirror neighborhood schools' (NS) racial inequities evidenced in access to general education classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At least 9 neuroscientists immigrated from Nazi Europe to Illinois to escape tyranny and attempt to re-establish their careers. Some work has been published in print on eponymous neuroscientist Adolf Wallenberg, as well as 2 others but not on Ernst Haase, Frederick Hiller, Erich Liebert, Bruno Volk, Heinz (Henry) von Witzleben, or Gerhard Pisk. Before leaving Germany or Austria, these downtrodden specialists were dismissed from long-held posts sometimes for trumped-up charges, stripped of their financial security, and forced to leave relatives behind. At least 1 left only for personal and political, but not because of racial, reasons. Illinois, in exemplary fashion, welcomed these unfortunate survivors more than many other states because of limited licensing requirements, numerous opportunities at state hospitals, and special internship programs. Some of them successfully continued their research agendas and published, taught neurology students and trainees, and added to the expansion of neurologic care in Illinois or elsewhere, but most of them took years to reacquire the academic rank they lost and never regained their career momentum. These refugees survived and passed on some of their extensive training and expertise to a new generation of neuroscientists in America, but not without significant cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: Thirteen measurable Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) have been proposed by the Association of American Medical Colleges as a means to operationalize medical school graduates' patient care qualifications. Mastery learning is an effective method for boosting clinical skills, but its applicability to the EPAs remains to be studied. The authors designed this study to evaluate a mastery learning intervention to teach and assess components of 3 of the 13 EPAs in a 4th-year capstone course. Intervention: The course featured mastery learning principles and addressed three EPA-based skills: (a) obtain informed consent, (b) develop a differential diagnosis and write admission orders, and (c) write discharge prescriptions. All students underwent a baseline skills assessment, received feedback, engaged in deliberate practice with actionable feedback, and completed a similar skills-based posttest assessment. Students continued with practice and testing until the minimum passing standards (MPSs) were reached for each posttest. Context: All medical students at a single medical school (Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine) who matriculated in 2012 and graduated with the class of 2016 participated in a required transition to residency course immediately prior to graduation. Outcome: There were 134 students eligible to participate, and 130 (97.0%) completed all curricular requirements and assessments. All 130 medical students who completed the course met or exceeded the MPS for each of the three EPA-based clinical skills. Reliability coefficients for outcome data were uniformly high. Measures for each of the three clinical skills showed statistically significant improvement. Lessons Learned: The capstone course was an effective approach to teach and assess components of three EPA-based clinical skills to mastery learning standards in a 4th-year capstone course. We learned that this approach for implementation is feasible and results in significant improvement in components of EPA skill performance. Next steps will include developing assessments incorporating the mastery model into components of additional EPAs, identifying the best location within the curriculum to insert this content, and expanding the number of assessments as part of a larger assessment system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for physical therapists in the United States (U.S.) is currently robust and expected to grow further. There are currently 228 physical therapy programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), and 30 more are in development in the U.S.; 29,246 students are currently enrolled in these programs (2014–2015 data). A shortage of physical therapy faculty with an advanced doctoral degree (i.e., PhD, EdD, DSc) is a primary concern for these programs. Specialized residency and fellowship training in physical therapy continue to expand, preparing professionals to deliver advanced clinical care. The American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE) reports that there are currently 179 accredited residency programs and 35 accredited fellowship programs in the U.S. A number of academic physical therapy programs also currently operate a clinical faculty practice. Currently, these aspects and trends in physical therapy education, advanced training, and clinical practice, for the most part, lack synergy and connectivity, in both planning and implementation amongst the various components. This professional theoretical article describes a novel model for academic physical therapy, with potential transformative implications for entry-level physical therapy education, advanced clinical training, and academic preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: Studies have shown that the overutilization of laboratory tests ("labs") for hospitalized patients is common and can cause adverse health outcomes. Our objective was to compare the ordering tendencies for routine complete blood counts (CBC) and chemistry panels by internal medicine residents and hospitalists.Methods: This observational study included a survey of medicine residents and hospitalists and a retrospective analysis of labs ordering data. The retrospective data analysis comprised patients admitted to either the teaching service or nonteaching hospitalist service at a single hospital during 2014. The survey asked residents and hospitalists about their practices and preferences on labs ordering. The frequency and timing of one-time and daily CBC and basic chemistry panel ordering for teaching service and hospitalist patients were obtained from our data warehouse. The average number of CBCs per patient per day and chemistry panels per patient per day was calculated for both services and multivariate regression was performed to control for patient characteristics.Results: Forty-four of 120 (37%) residents and 41 of 53 (77%) hospitalists responded to the survey. Forty-four (100%) residents reported ordering a daily CBC and chemistry panel rather than one-time labs at patient admission compared with 22 (54%) hospitalists (P < 0.001). For CBCs, teaching service patients averaged 1.72/day and hospitalist service patients averaged 1.43/day (P < 0.001). For basic chemistry panels, teaching service patients averaged 1.96/day and hospitalist service patients averaged 1.78/day (P < 0.001). Results were similar in multivariate regression models adjusting for patient characteristics.Conclusions: Residents' self-reported and actual use of CBCs and chemistry panels is significantly higher than that of hospitalists in the same hospital. Our results reveal an opportunity for greater supervision and improved instruction of cost-conscious ordering practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Hospitalized oncology patients receive care from a variety of professionals, each of whom plays a role in decisions related to blood transfusions. We sought to examine differences in transfusion practices based on professional role, years of experience, and patient clinical scenario.Methods: We surveyed general medicine residents, hospitalists, and oncologists caring for inpatients at a large academic medical center between August 2013 and June 2014. Respondents reported transfusion practices in three different patient scenarios: a generally healthy patient, a patient with solid tumor malignancy, and a patient with hematologic malignancy. We also assessed rationale for transfusion practices. Bivariate comparisons of respondent characteristics and transfusion threshold were conducted using the Fisher exact test. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the relative relations among professional role, years in practice, clinical scenario, and transfusion threshold <7 g/dL.Results: Of 158 physicians surveyed, 97 responded (61.4%). In bivariate analyses, fewer oncologists than residents or hospitalists used a threshold of <7 g/dL, but the result was significant for only one of three scenarios. The multivariate odds of transfusing at a threshold <7 g/dL were significantly higher among nononcologists (odds ratio [OR] 2.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-4.28). Residents and practitioners in practice for <4 years also were more likely to use a threshold <7 g/dL (OR 1.82, 95% CI 0.99-3.33). Providers were less likely to use a restrictive threshold when an underlying malignancy was present (solid tumor OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.15-0.64; hematologic malignancy OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.16-0.70).Conclusions: Transfusion thresholds differed based on professional role, years in practice, and patient scenario. Further research is needed to determine the optimal transfusion threshold for oncology patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Illinois Department of Public Health mandated that all clinicians who provide care to obstetric patients participate in the Illinois Obstetric Hemorrhage Project. The aim of the current report is to describe change in knowledge among providers engaged in the project, as assessed by pre- and post-tests.Methods: The project, implemented 2008 to 2010, included four components: a written 25-item multiple-choice examination (pre-test), a didactic lecture, skill stations (for teaching blood loss estimation), and a simulation drill and debriefing. Participants completed a post-test 6 months later. Pre- and post-test examination scores were compared.Results: Data from 95 hospitals are included in this analysis (9456 paired test results). The proportion of participants who scored ≥88% correct answers increased from 10.9% on the pre-test to 49.1% on the post-test (p < 0.0001). Registered nurses made greater improvements in test scores than anesthesia and obstetric providers (p < 0.0001).Conclusions: The Illinois Obstetric Hemorrhage Project was successful in improving knowledge of obstetric hemorrhage in a large number of providers with different expertise and experience levels. Further long-term study is essential to determine whether the skills acquired during the Project contribute to improved obstetric hemorrhage outcomes for the women of Illinois. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The subinternship is an integral part of the 4th year of medical school. There is little description of innovations aimed at assessing the preparedness and confidence of graduating students as they move on the next step in their training.Description: An innovation including an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) at the conclusion of the subinternship was designed. We focused on key themes of transitions of care, communication within the health care system, and communication with patients and providers.Evaluation: A pre- and postsurvey addressed student self-perceived skill, confidence, and overall perception of importance. Improvement (p< .05) was seen across all themes from pre- to postsurvey, with more favorable scores on the postsurvey.Conclusions: A subinternship innovation including an OSCE was feasible and had a positive effect on student assessment, perception and confidence. As the landscape of medical education evolves, assessing students’ preparedness for residency will become increasingly imperative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of training pediatric residents to conduct a brief clinic-based behavioral intervention in coordination with community dissemination of a health promotion message developed by the Consortium for Lowering Obesity in Chicago Children. A total of 113 residents completed a short (<60 minutes) online training program. Some (64) residents distributed interview contact cards to patients they saw in their continuity of care clinics after training; others (45) distributed cards before training. A researcher interviewed 75% of the 509 patients 4 weeks after the visit. More patients of trained residents reported positive changes in behaviors which have been associated with lower obesity rates: increased intake of fruits and vegetables (28% vs 16%, P < .01), increased intake of water (30% vs 19%, P < .01), increased physical activity (40% vs 29%, P < .03), and decreased television time (36% vs 24%, P < .01). Brief training using the 5-4-3-2-1-Go! message seems to be feasible and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Describes a mentoring program which was developed as part of a nurse internship program for new nurses hired to work at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Theoretical underpinnings of the mentoring program; Information on the principles of human becoming; Discussion on championing mentoring processes.

Provides information on internship experience evaluation program at the Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois, which was assessed through comparative quantitative assessment. Importance of the internships to students; How the marketing communication department determined how interns benefit from their assignments; Significance of the comparative quantitative assessment to the department.

The article focuses on Dr. Emily Barquet, a veterinary intern at the Wauconda, Illinois-based Merritt and Associates veterinary clinic. Dr. Barquet has completed her degree from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama and worked as a veterinary technician at a clinic which had several interns and resident doctors. At Merritt and Associates, Dr. Barquet has several responsibilities including assisting in surgery, taking care of patients and lameness examination.

The article reports collaboration between St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, and grocery-store-based pharmacy chain Schnuck Markets Inc. where patients ready for discharge have take-home medications delivered to their bedside and receive discharge counseling from a pharmacist affiliated with the chain's specialty pharmacies. Ginger Ertel, the hospital's pharmacy director, describes other pharmacy-related changes at the hospital aimed at improving patient care.

Presents the cost analysis of the dietetic internship program at Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois. Criteria for cost analysis; Objectives of the dietetic internship program.